Explosions in the Sky
by oksofia
Summary: Complete. Dr. Polaris and Shade take an armory hostage in hopes of reaping a profit. It's in Wonder Woman's hands to stop them, but only if she employs Batman-like patience and shakes off a recent nightmare. Occurs right after "Only a Dream," JL S2 .
1. Chapter 1

**AN**: I have no legal rights over "Justice League" or any characters therein.

**I**

"Wonder Woman, are you okay for Watchtower Duty?" buzzed Superman's voice on the communicator.

"I left Sevubir an hour ago," answered Diana, "I'll be at the Watchtower in half an hour."

"Good, we'll see you then. Superman out." The communicator disconnected.

Recently, scientists on the planet of Sevubir had noted an increase in the gravitational force in the core of their planet. Preparing for the worst, the government had ordered immediate evacuation. As the planet was very small and sparsely populated, they had only requested the help of one member from the Justice League. With Wonder Woman's assistance, the endeavor had been accomplished in a matter of hours. The grateful government lauded her with praise and gratitude as she boarded the Javelin to return to the Watchtower.

When J'onn had assigned her to the case, Diana had accepted breezily. Evacuations were not the kind of undertaking that she particularly relished, and although she had been in the Justice League for almost two years now, she still found space travel unsettling. But upon arriving at Sevubir, she saw that its inhabitants were much smaller than she was. With a minimum amount of effort, she aided in the assembly of several large aircraft that would carry the planet's population to an uninhabited planet a safe distance away.

Her work, although useful to the Sevubiri, was tedious to her. After the initial stages of aircraft construction, she was asked to wait for some time as the government prepared to instruct the initial wave of pilots. The Sevubiri ambassador had provided her with his office in which to stay until she was needed again. It was during this downtime that Batman contacted her on her communicator. "Batman to Wonder Woman. Whatever you do, don't fall asleep."

Puzzled, she had asked for details, only to be met with silence. Had any of the others told her not to fall asleep during an evacuation mission, she would have assumed it was a joke and laughed. But this was Batman. While lately she had noticed an increase in his sarcastic humor when they were on missions together, he was still Batman. If Batman told her not to fall asleep, she had to take it seriously. Yet the ambassador's office was tiny and warm, and Wonder Woman couldn't help but close her eyes and drift into an uneasy dream.

In the dream, she was flying quickly and purposefully - toward some impeding threat perhaps - narrowing her eyes so that she wouldn't lose focus. It was the same as any other battle, until she stopped suddenly at the sight directly below her. There was her mother's lifeless body, right next to Batman's.

She woke with a sudden jolt. It had only been a dream. Determined not to disobey Batman's voice over the comm link, she left the room and decided to wait outside for further instructions from the Sevubir.

--

"It was good that you were there," J'onn told her upon her return. "Material signs indicate that the planet will explode in a matter of days."

She shrugged modestly. "They were well-prepared. All they needed was some muscle."

"It was good that you were there," J'onn repeated. She smiled at him gratefully. J'onn's praise always made her heart swell.

"What happened here while I was gone?" she asked. None of the others were around.

"We had quite a situation on our hands," said J'onn, although his characteristically calm manner indicated otherwise. "A former LexCorp employee tampered with a machine that left him with extraordinary mental powers. He managed to trap the others in their nightmares, and I was compelled to enter their minds and help them break free while Batman attended to the source of the disturbance. Thankfully, they are all unscathed."

Diana was taken aback as she listened to J'onn. So that was why Batman had told her not to fall asleep. And yet she had, she thought with a twinge of guilt. "J'onn," she began tentatively, "I dozed off for a couple of seconds and had somewhat of a nightmare too." When she saw that he was not perturbed, she continued more confidently. "But I was able to wake up fine. Do you think it was because of my distance from Earth?"

The Martian nodded sagely. "Destiny's telepathic powers decreased with distance. You were quite far, although I am troubled to hear that even remnant of his influence reached you all the way on Sevubir."

"But I'm fine for monitor duty. I can take the next two shifts."

"Thank you, Diana. Hopefully you will not have to stay for more than one. The others need to rest after what happened to them. I will be grateful for the chance as well, but I will be here in case you need me. Batman too is asleep in the medical bay."

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. Of course the Batman slept. The thought had never occurred to her.

The monitors showed no signs of distress. Wonder Woman dutifully flipped through several news channels, and then turned to the view of the glittering, blue Earth before her. She could just make out the tiny green speck of Themyscira from where she was. It was night there. Her mother would be sound asleep, lulled to rest by the rhythmic crash of the ocean waves lapping the shore. That sound was only one of the things she missed about her home. She missed her friends. She missed the way sunlight streamed into her room, first illuminating her bed and then the view through her window. And although she was not exiled from her mother as she was from the island, sometimes she daydreamed that she was leaning against one of the cool marble pillars of the training arena as Hippolyta's voice echoed faintly in the background. The pain of these memories lessened each time Diana recalled them, which was why she tried not to think about Themyscira too often - she was afraid that if she did, eventually, she would become resigned to her current situation.

Defiantly, she withdrew her eyes from the window and returned her attention to the monitors.

--

Several hours later, one of the hologram screens started to flash. Wonder Woman flew to the monitor and gripped the back of the chair as she read the screen in alarm. There had been a breach in security in a European weapons storage facility. She brought the coordinates into view on one of the other monitors. What she saw was strange - it was dusk in the area, but for a brief second the storage facility itself seemed to be enveloped in pitch blackness. As quickly as it had darkened, it reverted to its original state. Had she not seen something like it before, she would have blamed it on a trick of her eyes.

"Shade," she realized at once.

"He's probably not alone," came an unmistakable voice from behind her, "Shade is good at providing cover but he's not enough to do any harm alone in a place like this. I'll go with you, just to play it safe."

She turned around so that she was facing Batman. The last image she had of him was from her brief dream on Sevubir, when he was lying dead next to her mother. Without her realizing it, the memory had vividly embedded itself in her mind; she felt a surge of relief to see him standing before her. But her building anticipation to confront Shade was stronger. "Get one of the shuttles ready," she told him without hesitation, "I'll alert J'onn and meet you at the launch pad."

With one glance at the coordinates on the screen, he was gone. After a brief exchange on her comm link, Diana followed.

--


	2. Chapter 2

**II**

"Who else could be there with him?" Diana wondered out loud.

"There's no telling," answered Batman as he navigated the shuttle's controls. "Shade likes to mix and match company. The last I saw of him was when your friend was in town."

Diana ignored his little barb about Aresia, the memory of whom still depressed her. "You know something that troubles me about Man's World?" She didn't pause, knowing that he wouldn't attempt to guess. "It is how you have hundreds and hundreds of such destructive weapons stockpiled, when even a handful would be enough to obliterate the entire planet. And not only are you blind to this folly, but you continue to increase your reserves as you compete with one another to display your apparent power! It's simply a misguided and highly dangerous display of machismo." And then, in what was becoming her trademark way, she spat, "_Men._"

"There was a time when I would have agreed with you," said Batman, "But the stakes are much higher now."

Scenes from the Imperium invasion flashed through her eyes. Still, she had a reason for her beliefs. "But such weapons are aimed at other people on Earth. That's a problem, Batman. No one should have control of a medium of power that can cause so much destruction."

"Aren't Justice League members mediums of the same level of destruction as nuclear weapons?" asked Batman darkly, "Some of us possess and regularly use powers that are more than enough to cause mass devastation."

"Your comparison isn't reasonable," she said firmly, "I think the discursive effects of nuclear warheads are entirely different than those of Justice League members. That needs to be taken into account as well. The context of the object in question is just as important as the object itself."

"Even you just called us objects."

"Yes, I'm using your language to illustrate my point." She then added slyly, "You can be childish when you have to concede an argument."

Batman said nothing except, "We're here."

Diana checked the shuttle's sensors. Although they weren't as comprehensive as the Javelin's, they indicated that Shade had no aerial backup. Entering the building in question would be straightforward, then. Batman indicated his acknowledgement of the scanner data, and they both disembarked the shuttle. A handful of military personnel were on hand to greet them.

"Commandant Desmarais," the officer in the middle introduced himself to the two Leaguers. He debriefed them of the situation. "It's a relatively small armory - some inactive missiles, but primarily anti-tank landmines, which could be very dangerous if found in the wrong hands. We managed to evacuate three of our men, but there are two left inside." He paused, and then said, "It's strange to think that anyone would want to target a facility this small." He shook his head.

Wonder Woman had almost a sneer on her face as she listened to the debriefing. There was no question that she would help, but all of this could have been avoided so easily. When she saw that Desmarais was attempting to gain their sympathy, her temper took the better of her. "If you didn't have such needlessly vast arsenals of weapons in the first place, you wouldn't have to face the problem of their being taken!" she cried, leaning forward and glaring at the Commandant. Batman immediately put his hand on her shoulder.

"We'll take care of it," he stated to the officer. Desmarais looked furious, but his eyes betrayed his terror. "Thank you, Batman," he answered finally, avoiding the Amazon altogether.

Wonder Woman, throwing a final look at the Commandant, headed towards the storage facility with her colleague.

--

Just as she had predicted, entering the building had been remarkably easy. She had also been surprised to find that Batman said nothing about her outburst at Commandant Desmarais.

The two Leaguers were standing in the shadowed corner of a narrow balcony that ran the perimeter of two walls in the largest room of the storage facility. A year ago, Wonder Woman would have burst through the main doors of the building and dealt Shade the beating of his life before interrogating him about his criminal motives. Now, after going on dozens of cases with Batman and Green Lantern, she gave more weight to the merits of gathering intelligence beforehand - not that she wouldn't have been able to prevail over criminal lowlifes without learning about them first. But having a plan of action was more efficient, even more elegant. A princess had an inherent appreciation for such finesse.

Thus, she managed to stay as still as Batman as they both stood listening to the conversation transpiring at the floor of the room.

The Shade was leaning on his nightstick with his left hand as his right one rested on his hip. "You done taking inventory, magnet boy?" he asked lazily.

"Yeah, but we're talking missiles, war machines here, not a comic book collection," said his accomplice, "I want to go to their main computers and confirm what I counted, so that we know exactly what we're dealing with here."

Wonder Woman had not seen the other man in the room before. He was dressed in a purple body suit with blue armor over his chest, arms, and lower legs. On his head was a peculiar helmet that covered his jawline and extended beyond his neck. The helmet also had two protrusions near the ears, almost like flattened horns. Finally, there was a symbol on his chest – an image of a horseshoe magnet.

Diana leaned forward so that her face was somewhat illuminated, and mouthed to Batman, "Intergang?" He shook his head and returned his attention to the two on the floor.

"Lead the way," said the Shade, motioning with his wand. They walked into another room.

When they were gone, Batman spoke. "He's not with Intergang," he said aloud, "I've never seen him."

"The picture of the magnet on his chest is hint enough," Diana declared. She was confused about the villains' intentions. From her previous encounters with Shade, she knew that he was able enough to provide cover to gain access to places much more guarded than this particular facility. Yet they chose to be here, where they were surrounded by deactivated missiles. Did they mean to activate one of them?

Lost in her thoughts, she glanced at Batman, who seemed to have had the same idea. He pulled out a Geiger counter from his belt and began a scan. She watched, expectantly.

"Nothing," he said.

"I could give the room a sweeping scan," she suggested, trying to assess how long it would take her to fly around the perimeter once.

"Not now."

He said it calmly, meaning that he had ruled out the possibility of warheads being stolen. As she always put full faith Batman's judgment, she was slightly relieved - but still perplexed. There were other grades of weapons for Shade and his accomplice to choose from, ones that could be activated with only some clever technical know-how. Again, Diana was angered by the oversight of those who enabled the proliferation of such weaponry. If they insisted on creating these arms, then why leave them so vulnerable?

--

They waited for several more minutes in the shadows as they heard a faint muffle of voices from the other room. Diana's patience grew thin. She understood the merits of finding the enemy's motives and weaknesses before striking, but in this particular instance, it felt useless. _She_ felt useless. Next to her, she saw Batman pull out various items from his belt, testing out theories as they occurred to him. Maybe if she had a belt, or a ring, or x-ray vision, she thought dismissively.

She opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it quickly when she heard footsteps heading in their direction.

"Well, I think that threatening phone call went rather well, Mr. Polaris," said Shade as he entered the room.

"_Doctor_," corrected Polaris, "And yeah, we made it pretty clear that the place would blow up if they didn't give into our demands. Although, that Desmarais guy seems to not care one way or the other - he's kind of an ass."

Had he not just made a threat of mass destruction, Diana would have almost liked Doctor Polaris. However, their shared views on the Commandant would have to be pushed aside for the moment, especially when she saw that Polaris walked into the room with a labcoat-clad body slung over his shoulder. Carelessly, he tossed it aside.

Diana jerked abruptly, ready to fight, but Batman's gloved hand was on her arm immediately. While she wanted to turn around and give him a piece of her mind, she begrudgingly admitted that he was right. She clenched her jaw, continuing to survey the scene.

Doctor Polaris continued, "In fact, I would say things are going a little too well. You know why I say that, Shade?"

Shade looked suspicious. "No."

"It's because we won't have Justice League members butting in and ruining our plans," explained Doctor Polaris, and pointed both of his arms in the direction of the shadows where Batman and Wonder Woman were concealed. Before either of them could react, a ray of crackling blue light from each of the villain's arms shot towards them.

Diana watched in alarm as her gauntlets, tiara, and belt began to glow a sparkling blue. Next to her, Batman's utility belt was glowing the same way. Doctor Polaris then jerked his arms and Batman was hurled forward. Diana, however, stayed where she was. No one had noticed her.

"Bet you didn't see that one coming," said Polaris, as he hovered Batman in the air by his belt.

"What are you after?" demanded Batman.

"If you were paying attention, you'd know," sighed Polaris, clearly annoyed, "I'm Doctor Polaris, and as you might have gathered by now, I'm a ferrokinetic. Clearly, your belt has metal."

A ferrokinetic. So he could manipulate metal. But then why hadn't he exposed her too? She had far more pure metal in her armor than Batman.

Batman, meanwhile, tried to reach for a compartment in his belt, but the charge was so great that he drew his hand back, realizing that he would be unable to access anything. Doctor Polaris and Shade laughed, the latter a little too gleefully. And then without warning, Polaris lowered his hands with such force that Batman's body slammed down hard onto the concrete floor. With a groan, he was unconscious.

"That's that," yawned Shade.

Diana watched the scene in horror. Had she not made a sudden movement when the two villains walked in, she would not have betrayed their position. Batman would not be at the mercy of the two plotters. If only she wasn't always so ready to fight, and assessed all of her options before she reacted.

On the floor of the armory, the scientist's blond hair was strewn over her face. A couple of feet away from her was an unconscious Batman. It was too much like Wonder Woman's dream on Sevubir. She felt a rush of dread, but the anger and adrenaline that was ebbing in her veins was much greater.

Batman wasn't with her anymore. It was time to fight.

--


	3. Chapter 3

**III**

The thing about Diana was that, contrary to popular belief, she always took the time to plan - not too much or too little, but just enough. Strategy and tactics, although not her best subjects, were a familiar terrain. So while she wanted to crush Shade and Doctor Polaris, beat them senseless, and hurl them into the sky - all which she was more than capable of - there were other things to take into consideration. She had to move the scientist and Batman to a safer location, and since Polaris could perform ferrokinesis, she had to be wary of being bombarded by the dismantled missiles stacked throughout the room. She also had to find out what "place" they were planning to "blow up." And, according to Desmarais, there was someone else in the building. As soon as the two lowlifes were close enough to each other, she would take care of them both in one fell swoop.

Doctor Polaris unclasped Batman's belt with the magnetic rays shooting from his hands and drew it towards him. With a flick of his wrist, it erupted into flames. Shade watched the act, slightly bemused, and doused the flames by engulfing them with shadow from his nightstick. When only the belt's Kevlar strap remained, he looked around and suggested carefully, "Let's outline the plan one more time."

Wonder Woman's eyes narrowed in expectation. They didn't know that she was there.

"Fine, I will go over it _slowly_," scoffed Doctor Polaris mockingly, "We just called Officer Desmarais to notify the Continental Union that we're holding this armory hostage - the weapons, and this scientist. If they don't give into our demands, we'll blow up various places in the continent, using items from this armory. They know that you can get us anywhere without being noticed, and when we stormed this place they found out that I can explode metal at my will. So even though most of this weaponry is disarmed, we can still scare the crap out of them."

Shade was undeterred by his accomplice's jeering in this case. Too many times he had seen the best of plans thwarted. "And you think that they'll give into our one hundred million Euro demand?"

"It's very reasonable."

"But you said so yourself: Desmarais doesn't seem to believe you."

"That's why we have to convince him that we're serious. Remember that anti-tank landmine you planted in Luxembourg earlier?"

Shade shrugged. "So what? It'll only detonate if something as heavy as a tank pressures it. The likelihood of tanks running around in that area is extremely low. And if you say you'll make it explode, you can only do that if you go near it…which I don't think you will if you want to live."

Doctor Polaris smiled slowly and shrugged. "I rewired it so that it's set to go off in less than half an hour. With that much explosive, it can wipe out half the population of Luxembourg. Being able to say that we destroyed half of a country will give us plenty of leverage, even if the country is stupidly small." He raised his eyebrows, evidently satisfied with himself.

"You're a little rough around the edges, but your plan will work," Shade admitted.

"That's the thing with so-called 'supervillains.' They always forget about Step A in favor of Step B." Polaris clapped Shade on the back. "Not you, Shade, you're all right." Sensing the derision behind the compliment, Shade frowned at him.

That was all the information Diana needed. She was ready for action until she heard Shade say, "How much money do you think we could get if we unmasked the Batman?" Nearly gasping, she stepped back into the shadows.

Polaris looked at him. "Tabloids would give us, what, like a million? That's child's play, my friend." As if to illustrate this point, he kicked Batman's body hard enough that it rolled over.

It was not the smartest time to attack - the two plotters were too far away for her to get them both at once with her lasso - but Polaris's kick was the last straw. Wonder Woman dropped down behind Shade and ordered, "Surrender, now."

He spun around, clearly surprised by the ambush. But Shade was, if anything, persistent. He quickly whipped out his nightstick and pointed it at her.

Wonder Woman rolled her eyes. Without missing a beat, she grabbed the nightstick and snapped it in half - she had had plenty of experience in that particular act. As Shade lunged for her she dexterously tied him with her lasso while he was mid-air and threw him against a wall some feet away; he landed with a soft thud and groaned. She needed him conscious so that he could disclose the location of the landmine, but she also wanted to acquiesce to her desire to hurt him.

As she dealt with Shade, she noticed that her gauntlets and belt were crackling with blue light, and again, she felt no effects of magnetism. It was time for a quick decision. She was far enough away from Doctor Polaris that if she decided to attack him directly, he could bombard her with several empty missiles at once. While it would be painful, it would not be a deterrent if she kept her concentration. But if she did that, Batman and the scientist were in danger if being hurt as well by errant pieces of metal.

She decided on the alternative. Keeping her eyes on his arm movements, she rose slowly and flew towards him with her forearms held in front of her. All the while, she pretended that she was drawing nearer to him against her will; she contorted her face to convey that she was straining to break from Doctor Polaris's pull, even though pretending to be defenseless was against her every inclination.

Her show of struggle seemed to convince Polaris. He laughed as her fists were inches from his chest. "I have a pretty magnetic personality," he proclaimed, "I'm surprised you didn't come around the first time with Batman, babe. But you know, I'm gentle with the ladies - I'm the good guy in that area."

So he was a chauvinist, too! She should have known. Calmly, she dropped onto her feet and stood before him in her full height, her hands on her hips, glaring down at him.

Polaris dropped his arms in shock. "But…how…?" he sputtered.

"My armor was forged by the gods," she told him. "Mere magnets are not enough to contain _me_." As her time was limited, she gave him one clean punch square to his chest. He landed several feet in front of her, his eyes still wide with horror. That wasn't good enough - she needed him unconscious, but kicking him might be fatal. She settled for a left hook right below his jaw that sent him flying in the air before he fell down again. This time, it worked.

As much as Diana wanted to kick the senseless Polaris in order to avenge Batman, she had a landmine to extract, and time was running out. First, she rushed over to Batman and the scientist. The former was gradually regaining consciousness - he was groaning and breathing slowly. "Thank Hera," she uttered softly, placing her hand on his cheek and letting relief wash over her for a brief moment. She then turned to Shade, who gave a start when he saw the way that she glowered at him.

"Where in Luxembourg?" she demanded icily.

--


	4. Chapter 4

**IV**

Wonder Woman shot across the sky, drawing on every ounce of the speed that Hermes had gifted her with upon her creation. Taking to the air would not have been her first choice in the current conditions; she was one of the faster members of the League on foot, and the discomfort of flying in the winter made it a somewhat slower mode of travel. But running in this particular situation was out of the question, as she was not familiar with this particular territory; moreover, she needed an overhead view of the area in order to determine where the landmine was located. And in this case, she was also carrying an unwelcome load - dangling from her lasso was the Shade, whose hat had fallen off of his head somewhere over eastern Belgium.

Below her, the twinkling lights of cities shone like starry clusters in the dark expanse. Diana found herself thinking of Themyscira again, where the lights were softer, but just as beautiful.

Her reverie was interrupted by Shade, who announced breathlessly, "It's down there."

Snatching him by the neck of his suit and pulling her lasso from around him, she began her descent into the location he indicated. To her disgust, Doctor Polaris and Shade had chosen to plant the landmine under an ornamental tree in the middle of a crowded plaza.

Wonder Woman shook him. "You planted it _here,_ amidst all these people?" she exclaimed. Her anger was not limited to Shade, however. "Of course you would plant it here," she continued. Shade looked at her in disbelief as she spoke. "If the world is overrun by heedless, tactless men deciding on policy and strategy, then why wouldn't you plant it here?" she mumbled, lost in her thoughts, her brow furrowed.

But once her feet touched the ground, she threw Shade aside and put her arms around the tree. Although it was meant to be ornamental, it was a mature maple weighing several hundred pounds. Uprooting it would be manageable, but the crowd of amazed onlookers that had gathered around her would make things somewhat more difficult.

"Stand aside!" she yelled. When no one moved, she tried yelling it in French. "Écartez-vous!" she repeated herself, hoping that it would work. Luckily, those who understood her began to push others out of the way, and Wonder Woman heaved the giant tree as gracefully as she could onto the ground next to her. She gritted her teeth - that had taken too long. As it had cost her little over ten minutes to fly from the armory to Luxembourg, she guessed that the landmine was very near exploding. Every moment was invaluable right now.

She then turned to the gaping hole in the ground that the uprooted tree had created, and began digging until her fingertips come into contact with cold, hard metal. She looked down and saw that she had unearthed a view of the countdown screen. 1:32, it read - enough time to remove the landmine. It was colossal - she would have to dig a little further in order to be able to grab onto it. As she resumed shifting the soil, she felt something leap onto her back, and then strike her in the neck.

Furiously, she grabbed her attacker and swung him around so that he was facing her. To her utter surprise, it was Shade. "You _little_ man!" she cried, half-admiringly, half-disgustedly. His perseverance was undeniable.

Shade took this opportunity to deliver another blow to the superhero with a swift kick to her left hip. It was too desperate and in poor taste, he realized at once. He undeniably deserved the force with which the Amazon's fist connected with his midsection.

Diana was more than willing to take care of Shade once and for all, but he was wasting her time. She heard a sharp beep from behind her, which meant that there was less than a minute left before she could dispose of the landmine.

"I can continue to fight you," she promised, "but you'll also find this explosion fatal."

Clearly, he hadn't considered the possibility. He drew back immediately.

With clenched fists and a fast-beating heart, Wonder Woman returned to the site of the landmine. As she had been dealing with Shade, some of the onlookers had finished unearthing it for her. With a fleeting nod at them, she lifted the weapon over her head.

While she was quick, she wasn't quick enough to take the landmine a safe distance away from any civilians in forty five seconds. She was also wary of disarming it on the spot, as landmines were too precarious of a weapon to be dismantled safely. Well, if there were no possibilities on a horizontal field, she would have to think vertically.

Skillfully, Diana tied the lasso around the landmine and rose into the sky, higher and higher, until she was only a tiny speck to the onlookers she had just been level with. Twenty seconds. She began to swing the landmine around over her head. "Hera!" she implored, and with a fearless yell, she released her lasso above her, hurling the landmine into the skies above.

The time that she had just struggled so fiercely against now seemed to stand still. Unwilling to close her eyes but apprehensive about what she might see, she looked straight ahead and began to pray fervently, stretching out her hands in plaintive submission.

Suddenly, she heard a faint, distant rumble. She drew a sharp breath, and moments later, was overjoyed to see her lasso fall into her outstretched hands in pristine condition.

Diana took a moment to linger in the sharp coldness of the atmosphere. It was the first time she had ever flung anything into space. She couldn't help but feel a glimmer of pride in her accomplishment. Perhaps her terrain of familiarity was increasing beyond the bounds of Earth after all.

But there was still work to be done. The maple tree she had uprooted had to be returned to its proper place, and she had to catch Shade before he escaped. As she streaked down towards the city, she couldn't help but slyly regret that she hadn't just dropped Shade onto the landmine. But then she remembered that the landmine was self-igniting, and that Justice League members did not kill. No, what really troubled her was that the Shade was showing more audacity than ever before; his persistence could possibly present a threat to the League later on if his nightstick was ever repaired. Diana gasped to herself - she was beginning to think like Batman.

--


	5. Chapter 5

**V**

When Wonder Woman returned to the armory, she found Batman standing outside with his arms crossed. He had been waiting for her.

"Did you take care of it?" he asked her brusquely.

She nodded as she landed near him. She had found Shade scurrying away just at the outskirts of the city, and without much effort, had delivered him to the Luxembourgian police.

A few feet in front of her, she saw the blond-haired scientist being taken away on a stretcher. To her immense relief, she saw that the scientist was wincing noticeably, indicating that she was in pain, but that she would be all right. In the same procession, there was a man in uniform being pushed in a wheelchair, blanket over his shoulders and canteen in his hands. He must have been the other person left behind in the armory. So Batman had also taken care of it. Diana stole a glance at him; he seemed oddly incomplete without his utility belt.

"You knocked him out very thoroughly," called an admiring voice from behind them. Recognizing the source, Diana crossed her arms, mirroring her friend's stance. "Polaris is still out cold, Batman," exalted Commandant Desmarais, "Well done!" He moved so that he faced the two Leaguers.

Batman's expression remained indifferent. "That was my doing, Commandant," stated Wonder Woman coolly.

Determined not to acknowledge her, Desmarais continued, "All's well that ends well, I like to say."

Those words were too much. "How can you say that?" cried Wonder Woman, clenching her fists and displaying her fury on her face. "Two insignificant rogues were able to infiltrate a facility where you keep your 'useless' weapons and were going to kill thousands of people with them!"

"Let me tell you something, Wonder _Woman_," said Desmarais, unable to ignore her any longer, "The fate of our world is in the hands of smart, capable men. Don't let your female emotions about peace and understanding cloud your view of reality."

"That's enough," growled Batman. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at Desmarais.

Diana looked at him, surprised. While she longed to give Desmarais a piece of her mind - in her eyes, he was in the same class as Polaris - she was touched that Batman had interfered on her behalf. A warm feeling slowly spread through her limbs and down her spine, causing her to stand up even straighter and stronger.

"Let's go," said Batman finally.

--

On the shuttle, Diana remained quiet. And as Batman was the least likely person in the world to initiate a conversation, she welcomed the idea of listening only to the reassuring hum of the engines, knowing that she could enjoy peace at least until they reached the Watchtower. After the mental strain caused by the last couple of hours, she longed for the calm.

So when Batman spoke, she looked up, visibly startled.

"You shouldn't alienate people," he said.

"Are you sure _you_ should be teaching me this lesson?" she wryly replied, crossing her arms in defense.

"Let's try again," he said simply, "You shouldn't alienate people like Desmarais. We have to work with them." Batman waited for a retort, but when none came, he continued. "He's not the one who dictates policy, Diana. Someone once told me that the context of the object in question is just as important as the object itself."

Slowly, she lowered her hands and dropped them into her lap. "I won't waver in my beliefs," she said flatly, "but unless I'm in an appropriate venue, I won't express them." After considering for a moment, she added, "In words."

A brief smile flickered across Batman's face. She returned it with one equally fleeting and looked away.

She was both surprised and pleased when he resumed the conversation. "Did Polaris manage to empty my belt before he destroyed it?" It was a rare admittance of vulnerability from Batman; his unguardedness made her feel the same way. She suddenly remembered her nightmare on Sevubir, and then the way that he was sprawled on the floor after Doctor Polaris had slammed him into it. Upon reflection, she realized how harrowing the whole experience had been - the feelings that she had expertly disregarded as she stood in the shadows of the armory now flooded her mind all at once. To her utter shock, she felt a tear fall from one of her eyes.

Her face still turned away from his, she answered, "No."

"You're upset," he observed, as curiously as he could allow.

She was. But she was also embarrassed that he had seen in her in one of her most intimate moments - crying was something Diana almost never did in front of others. To her, it was indicative of such depths of despair that reemerging was all but impossible. It signified a kind of desperation that she found frightening, even loathsome, which is why she tried her best not to cry even when she was alone and her dull longing for Themyscira became so gnawing and vast that it consumed her every thought.

But the thought of Batman's death had managed to wrench such despair from her, even if it was just a single tear. She regarded him - his face had softened, which meant that he wanted her to speak.

"When I saw you and that scientist on the floor of the armory…" she said dully. Almost dutifully, she relayed to him what had happened on Sevubir - how she had fallen asleep after he had warned her otherwise, how she had seen her mother's dead body, how she had seen _his_ dead body. Diana noticed that Batman raised his thumb slightly when she told him the last part. She didn't blame him for being taken aback.

The truth was that she was puzzled by the contents of her nightmare as well. Her mother was the most important person in her life - but why was Batman also embedded so deeply in her subconscious? She knew that sitting next to her, he was mulling over the same question.

However, she felt too exposed in the shuttle as she was seated only inches away from the object of her thoughts. She changed the subject with the same weary tone of voice as before, and Batman obliged. Before long, they fell into one of their customary, comfortable silences. Perhaps this was why she valued him as much as she did - while she had carefully analyzed and memorized his every mannerism, she knew that he had done the same for her. It meant that the most poignant moments of their interaction were completely wordless.

--

Several days later, Wonder Woman was on monitor duty again. Behind her, Batman was doing maintenance. As much as she tried to otherwise, her attention kept wandering over to the view of the Earth. There was her tiny Themyscira - it was hidden from man's eye, but Diana had more than enough practice in locating it.

Her eyes then darted to Gotham and Metropolis, which she had visited countless times and under many circumstances. Next she shifted her attention to Luxembourg. And then, to the rest of the world.

The world was in the hands of smart, capable men, Commandant Desmarais had said. As much as she prayed for hope, she also knew that her gods were patriarchs. When she looked at the way her small, fragile planet glittered innocently, she was filled with a certain sense of dread.

But there were some men that she could put her faith in, she remembered as Superman landed gracefully on the deck of the monitor womb. Two of them were standing right there with her.

"I just read your report about your encounter with Doctor Polaris and the Shade," said Superman by way of greeting. Diana walked towards him while Batman remained where he was, working. "Throwing a landmine into space? That's quite impressive, Diana."

In spite of herself, she blushed.

"Was there a resulting shrapnel shower?" inquired Superman.

"No," answered Batman, without turning from his repairs.

Superman and Diana exchanged looks, the former cocking an eyebrow and latter trying to hide a smile. "No," she repeated Batman.

"Great!" Superman declared. "Well, I stopped by for a reason before I head off to follow up on the Sevubiri relocation." He handed her a slip of paper. "Batman here thought you might find this interesting." He took his leave of them and flew towards the hangar.

She read the paper - it was an invitation to a benefit at the Air and Space Museum in Paris in six weeks' time. She looked at Batman, still occupied, and then back at her invitation.

Although the benefit was to raise awareness about some problem - after two years, the concept of "raising awareness" still perplexed the princess - she knew that dignitaries, diplomats, and other people of consequence would be in attendance. An appropriate venue for her to voice her beliefs, she realized, and an effective one at that. While she had met with many world leaders in official assemblies, she had very little interaction with them otherwise. This could be her chance to share her thoughts with them, perhaps even influence them, for while she was born a warrior, she was also raised a politician.

When she looked up again, she saw that Batman was quietly inspecting her. She nodded her thanks to him and turned to the view of her planet again. This time, her eyes did not linger only on Themyscira.


End file.
